The city of Las Vegas is home to many pests, and I’m not talking about all the smut peddlers that frequent the streets of The Strip. Scorpions, roaches, spiders, and ants are really easy to find; but have you ever tried to find them in a word search puzzle? The pest professionals at Bulwark Exterminating, who have a branch in Las Vegas, put together a fun social media piece… A pest word search puzzle.

Wanna see?

The Pest Word Search Puzzle

The word search puzzle that you see above, was shared on Facebook, and participants were asked to comment on the puzzle the first pest that they found. The results were quite interesting; and impressive. Some 12,500 plus participants took part.

Wanna know how the first pest you found stacked up to the other 12,500 plus participants? Well, look no further than the following infographic:

Pest Word Search Infographic

How’d You Fare On The Pest Test Puzzle?

After searching the pest test word search, and noting the first pest you found; then comparing it to the other participants, how’d you fare? Did you find all the pests listed, and a few non-pests? Was one of your greatest fears, i.e. scorpion or spider, one of the first pests you found?

Please feel free to comment the first pest you find below in the comments section.

Self-storage units and public storage lockers have many obvious benefits. There is always a need for extra space and the benefit of having an uncluttered house drives many to take advantage of this option. In many cases, items are packed up without much thought and dropped into an aluminum locker. There is usually no more time spend on the storage unit once the lease is signed and door is closed. Once treasured personal belongings are now sitting, alone in the dark, never to be heard from again. Well, so maybe it is not all that dramatic. But, there are some unpleasant things that can happen when personal belongings are haphazardly left in storage. The problems are actually twofold. The first would be due to owner neglect, and the second would be due to dilapidated facilities.

Owner Neglect

Some people simply do not take care to thoughtfully pack items in preparation for storage. This is a fairly easy fix, and just requires some time and diligence. There are a few common sense ways to protect items from damage during packing, moving and storing. Any glass or delicate items should be properly cushioned in newspaper, bubble wrap or even blankets to protect them from accidental breakage. To prevent clothing from being eaten by moths or made into a home by other insects, place them in airtight container or use moth balls throughout the unit as a deterrent to bugs. Clearly label each box, tote or bag to indicate what contents are inside and if any special instructions (such as “fragile” or “flammable”) apply. Finally, do not use any boxes that once contained food to store any objects that insects may be remotely interested in exploring. Even aged scents may attract new insects for vermin to a storage unit.

Neglected Facilities

Although property owners have the best of intentions, not every compound can be a Keyport Self Storage. Beyond that, there are certain unavoidable effects of aging. Once solid building structures can become corrupt over time by weather, misuse, mistreatment, and infestations. Some of these issues area avoidable, but some are just par for the course and a part of nature that must be accepted. For example, rust occurs when metals are constantly exposed to the elements and oxidation forms. This can be regularly treated through cleaning processes, proper irrigation and special paints that are rust resistant. However, nothing can fully prevent rust from forming. It is up to the property management to keep an eye on the affected areas and make any necessary adjustments and maintenance to the property. Rusty buildings create holes that small rodents and large insects can easily enter to wreak havoc on the contents. The most common insects to enter closed in spaces are termites, spiders, water bugs and bees or wasps during nesting season. The cool, dark spaces are ideal for exploration and making webs, nests or cocoons that will not be disturbed. Period and consistent treatments with effective pesticides will eliminate this problem and prevent future infestations. Likewise, educating the public and encouraging renters to understand their responsibilities will help the overall health and longevity of the storage unit and property.

As seen in his G-to-the-Plus zone, Mr. Holdeman helps maintain a marketing business. He grew up in lovely Cali.

Christmas Pests

The magical Christmas season is finally here. The joyous event of decorating your home with all those beautiful decorations could be less joyous with an unfortunate encounter with a pest hiding in your decorations. Pests can quickly make the happiest time of year, into a time of worry and frustration.

Pests like scorpions, spiders, rodents, and silverfish love hiding out among your boxes of Christmas decorations. There are a few things that you can do to help ensure your Christmas is free of pests that may be hiding in your decorations.

Watch Out For Pests Hiding In Your Christmas Decor

Most of you have boxes and boxes full of Christmas lights, ceramic figurines, Christmas wrapping paper, and wreathes. You likely store these boxes in a garage, in your basement, or in the attic; all places Las Vegas pests love to hide when the weather cools. Here are a few holiday decorating tips that will ensure you don’t bring about a full on pest infestation inside your home.

First, examine Christmas boxes. If there are any pests living among your Christmas decorations, they will leave some evidence. Look for discarded shells of seeds or nuts. Rodent droppings are also an obvious clue of a pest problem. Look for the dead carcasses of silverfish or roaches. Where there are dead insects there are usually living ones… Plus, spiders and scorpions will be feeding on them.

Cautiously handle boxes. Use caution and be alert when you open those boxes of Christmas decorations. If there is a scorpion, spider, or rodent living inside; a misplaced hand could result in a painful bite or sting.

Open decorations outside first. By doing this you will keep from bringing any unwanted bugs or disease carrying rodents inside your home.

Inspect your Christmas tree.Whether your Christmas tree is real or fake, it needs to be thoroughly inspected for any evidence of pests. Rodents like mice, squirrels, and rats love making their nests inside artificial trees. If you buy a live tree on a lot, or cut one down yourself, look for signs of aphids, and other small tree insects. You won’t want them crawling all over you.

Get Las Vegas pest control. If you do happen to find any signs of pests living among your Christmas decorations, get professional help. A licensed Las Vegas exterminator can rid you of any of the above mentioned pests; and ensure your Christmas is pest free.

A twitter buddy of mine mentioned recently that she was having spider problems in her house. All right. No biggie! Then she mentioned that the “conkers” she was using to fend off her little friends weren’t working like everyone had told her.

Conkers? One, what’s a conker? And two, how do they battle spiders? I was going to get to the bottom of this, stat!

I asked my new twitter friend, Joanna, who is actually based in England, the scoop on these conkers that she mentioned. She shot me back a couple of links. Come to find out conkers are the nuts that come from horse-chestnut trees. These trees are mostly native to specific parts of Europe (which explains why I had never heard of them). It has long been believed that if you leave conkers around your doors and window sills, they act as a natural deterrent to spiders. While there has been no scientific evidence that conkers are effective form of defense, some believe that the conkers need to be a fresh batch in order to give off the appropriate odor to do their job.

Here in America there’s an old saying that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” While speaking to The Telegraph, Stuart Hine of the Natural History Museum in England gives us his own ryhme…